Summary
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features unique buildcrafting rooted in Pictos and Luminas for diverse character builds.
- The game could benefit from a loadout system to make navigating combat scenarios more seamless.
- With a loadout system, players can save Picto, Lumina, and weapon builds for different enemy encounters.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of those games that has clearly been influenced by an array of past titles, and yet it somehow manages to offer players an original experience they have likely never had before. There are bits and pieces of so many different games to be found in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, especially when it comes to classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy 10. Even so, this doesn't mean Clair Obcur: Expedition 33 is without a few things that would fill in some holes here and there, and there is one gameplay addition that it could especially benefit from in a future patch.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will undoubtedly receive plenty of regular updates in the near future, and it has even already received one fairly substantial patch. However, as near-perfect as the game already is, it could still do with a significant gameplay addition that would make navigating its diverse combat scenarios much easier. With so many different Pictos and Luminas to choose from and so much enemy variety in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the game could really use a loadout system, as it would make navigating these diverse situations more seamless than it is currently.
One Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Picto Is a Clear Callback to a Powerful Square Enix Mechanic
Painted Power shows how Clair Obscur adapts classic RPG ideas, turning a familiar mechanic into something that fits its own identity and system.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Needs a Loadout System
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Pictos and Luminas Comprise the Bulk of Its Buildcrafting
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes a unique approach to the classic JRPG formula, in that, rather than giving players a character's skills alone to let them craft a unique build for combat, the bulk of its buildcrafting is rooted in its Pictos and Luminas systems. Pictos in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are special items in the game that, when equipped, offer some useful stat bonuses, in addition to a unique passive effect called a "Lumina." Each character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can have three Pictos equipped at a time, which can result in some unique builds for those characters.
While Pictos and Luminas in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comprise the bulk of its buildcrafting, there are also dozens of weapons for players to choose from for each character, further increasing the possibilities for character builds.
Where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's buildcrafting can really be found, however, is in Luminas. When players win four battles with a specific Picto equipped on an active party member, that Picto's Lumina is then converted into a passive that any other character can equip, so long as they have the Lumina Points necessary to do so. This means that players can eventually make each playable character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a passive powerhouse that reflects their chosen playstyle. This is especially true considering there are dozens of unique Pictos and Luminas in the game, making the possibilities for unique builds seem almost endless.
A Loadout System Would Let Players Save Picto, Lumina, and Weapon Builds
While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Luminas and Pictos certainly offer players some interesting buildcrafting opportunities, the only issue is that they can currently only be manually swapped out individually. Where this issue is most evident is in the various elemental affinities of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's enemies. Should players encounter an enemy with an elemental affinity that ultimately works against their current build, they have no choice but to either power through the battle, flee, or allow the enemy to kill them so they can manually redo their builds to be more effective against the current enemy.
With so many different Pictos and Luminas to choose from and so much enemy variety in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the game could really use a loadout system, as it would make navigating these diverse situations more seamless than it is currently.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's weapons also factor in here, as there are so many different weapons, each with unique elemental properties, that, should players have a fire-based weapon equipped and encounter an enemy with an affinity for fire, they may be out of luck unless they have organized their skills to deal with various elements. The real pain is in reorganizing character builds, however, as players may wish to reset their build back to what it was after changing it briefly to overcome a specific battle. Needless to say, if Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 added loadouts in a future update, players could seamlessly swap between these builds rather than doing everything manually by memory.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
